Acid Reflux/Gerd Diet

[TasheaNewman]

I have been having a lot of issues with acid reflux and now I am feeling  a sensation in my tounge, most likely from the acid reflux, after acid most every thing I eat.

Yesterday I started my food journal and I am down to eating bananas, red apples, oatmeal, and prebiotic yogurt.

Is there some kind of Gerd diet plan??

What can I eat??

[gymdandee]

It's from the tribe we belong to. ;>)

[Paxiled]

Another common problem with us!  I had a duodenal ulcer as well over 35 year ago.  But I was lucky, I was in Berkeley.  The first doctor I saw told me I was too young to have an ulcer and dismissed me, and a year later I was in the emergency room with a bleeding ulcer.  Great, eh?  But my doctor then at Kaiser told me to do TM.  It took me a year to try it, but I finally did and I haven't had that problem since.

[gymdandee]

Pax, I agree with you about the diet! Over 45 years ago I had an acute  duodenal ulcer. I was burning all the way up to my throat. my cousin an MD
wanted to put me on some medication but I changed my diet instead and it took about a year and everything healed and never had a problem again. I love spicy foods and use spice on just about everything.  

[Paxiled]

The medical approach to this is one that makes no sense.  GERD isn't a disease, it's a symptom.  h.pylori is in everyone, so the question has always been, why is it a problem for some and not others?  But aside from all this, the natural approach to this is that digestive problems are digestive problems and therefore it's the diet that needs ultimately to be addressed.  Doctors basically look at all this as something to be killed, something to be suppressed, but that doesn't solve the cause of the problem and that can lead to a rebound effect.  I don't doubt the medical community's diagnostic abilities, I just don't think they handle treatment well when it comes to digestive problems.  That's certainly been my own experience.  But everyone gets to choose the approach they prefer.

[gymdandee]

Helicobacter pylori infection and gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GERD) account for most upper gastrointestinal pathologies with a wide spectrum of clinical manifestations. The interplay of both conditions is complex, in part intriguing, and has become a matter of debate because of conflicting results. The cardia is an area where both H pylori and abnormal GERD exert their damaging potential, inducing inflammation and its consequences, such as intestinal metaplasia. While the role of intestinal metaplasia within columnar lined epithelium (Barrett’s oesophagus) in the context of GERD is well established as a risk for neoplasia development, the role of intestinal metaplasia at the cardia in the context of H pylori infection is unclear. A particular challenge is the distinction of intestinal metaplasia as a consequence of GERD or H pylori if both conditions are concomitant. Available data on this issue, including follow up of a small patient series, are presented, but more studies are required to shed light on this issue because they will help to identify those patients that need surveillance.
Source: P Malfertheiner
Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Infectious Diseases, Otto-von-Guericke University, Leipziger Str. 44, 39120 Magdeburg, Germany

[Paxiled]

Not sure why GERD is being connected to heliobacter, that's connected to ulcers.  We all have heliobacter pylori in our systems but when there's an overgrowth it has to be killed.  Probiotics don't kill it, though they do prevent it from getting a foothold instead of passing through.  GERD is a digestive disorder that can come from many sources -- not chewing your food well enough, stress, an imbalance in your digestive system between acid and alkaline.  Spicy foods bother certain people and are curative for others -- depends on what you're used to eating.  Cayenne is a treatment for stomach problems for those who are used to eating it.  Anything that bothers you, don't eat.  I'd say the yoghurt is a bad choice -- dairy is the biggest food problem out there, wheat the second.  Apples and bananas are acidic, as are most fruits.  Lying down soon after eating triggers GERD.  It doesn't appear you're eating any essential fatty acids, getting all your protein from dairy, which also means you're leaching all the magnesium out of your system, adversely affecting digestion (dairy is very high in calcium and low in magnesium, and the two must be in electrical balance).  So I'd say you're so off now that you need to see a holistic nutritionist and build back from scratch.  You need help, and doctors can't help you here.  DGL, mentioned above, is a good choice, but not all brands suggest two tablets -- mine only suggests one and I do better on one than on two.  Aloe vera juice can be very helpful over time.  Slippery elm capsules help repair the lining of the digestive system.  Charcoal taken occasionally can absorb the acid.  Enteric coated peppermint oil caps can sometimes be helpful, but sometimes can make GERD happen, so it takes experimentation.  Lots of options to help with this, but you must get to the source.  As for probiotics, I'd take a refrigerated capsule that emphasizes bifidus.  Most yoghurts have dead organisms in them, so they act more as prebiotics than probiotics.  If you're going to do dairy try goat milk or sheeps milk yoghurt and see if it helps, but you must eat green leafy vegetables to get your magnesium.  As I said, you're all messed up here, so I'd spend the money and see a holistic nutritionist.

[gymdandee]

Make sure you're consuming enough beneficial bacteria (probiotics). This will help balance your intestinal microflora, which can help eliminate helicobacter bacteria naturally. It will also aid in proper digestion and assimilation of your food. You should get your beneficial bacteria from  fermented foods.
If you’re a long-term user of a proton pump inhibitor, be aware that your vitamin B12 status may have become compromised.  you’d want to include animal foods rich in vitamin B12, but if you believe you need a supplement, your best bet is a sublingual spray. They’re convenient.

[gymdandee]

http://www.everydayhealth.com/health-report/managing-gerd/lifestyle-changes-to-manage-gerd.aspx?xid=nl_everydayhealthhearthealth_20120126

DGL, a specially prepared form of licorice (which does not affect blood pressure in the way plain licorice can). Two lozenges before meals. It rebuilds the protective mucosal coating that lines the gastric walls so that acid (which we need for proper digestion) does not cause irritation and discomfort. Don't use the capsules, the DGL needs to make contact with your saliva to be activated.

Also smaller meals, don't eat too late in the day, avoid black pepper, caffeine, alcohol and spicy foods. You can also try eliminating gluten-containing grains (wheat, rye, kamut, and barley).

[TasheaNewman]

Sorry for the typos!

I have been having a lot of issues with acid reflux and now I am feeling  a sensation in my tounge, most likely from the acid reflux, after almost every thing I eat.

Yesterday I started my food journal and I am down to eating bananas, red apples, oatmeal, and probiotic yogurt.

Is there some kind of Gerd diet plan??

What can I eat??

[TasheaNewman]

Probiotic*